Elections were held in April and May
2006 in three phases in Kerala as the United Democratic Front (UDF)
Ministry completed its term.

There has been no major change in the
composition of the ruling and Opposition fronts in the State after the
previous elections. However, nine Congress MLAs resigned and formed a
new party, Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran), under the
leadership of K. Karunakaran and his son K. Muraleedharan. The party,
which had an understanding with the LDF for the local body elections,
came back to the UDF fold before the Assembly elections.

The RSP faction in the UDF had split
with Minister Babu Divakaran forming RSP (Marxist) party. The other MLA
of the party Shibu Baby John was with the UDF, but not formally in the
RSP (Marxist). The parent organisation-- Revolutionary Socialist Party
(Bolshevik) led by A. V. Thamarakshan, which had only nominal presence
in these elections-- opposed the UDF.

The LDF continued its alliance with
the Indian National League. The Kerala Congress led by P. J. Joseph had
split. The splinter group was led by P. C. George, and both groups
continued in the LDF. The People's Democratic Party (PDP) declared
unilateral support to LDF.

The BJP and its minor allies
fielded candidates in most of the 140 constituencies.